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>> the taliban increased the amount of territory it controls. the taliban controls 13% of afghan. that means 700,000 more people are living under taliban rule today. at the u.s. and afghan army go on the offensive, the number of civilian casualties rose. earlier this week 4 u.s. troops were wounded in a suicide attack in kandahar. the home of the taliban. chief officer simms died when his chinnook crashed. a greenberet was killed not far

Lucas as details from the pentagon. >> the u.s. military dropped twice as many bombs on the taliban and isis in afghanistan compared to all last year. a level not last seen since 2012 according to a report by the u.s. air force. it coincide with 3,000 additional troops arriving in afghanistan to ramp up the fight against the taliban. the new soldiers and marines operate closer to the front lines armed with the ability to call in more air power. there are 14,000 u.s. troops on the ground. the top officers acknowledged the danger. >> there is an increased risk. >> the taliban increased the amoun...

Territory that it controls? >> the narrative we've harder out of washington and capitals in europe as isis' caliphate is shrinking and coming under pressure that they're going to wash out. that sound like it makes sense, unfortunately the data doesn't back it up because the first attempted attacks in europe were by fighters who left iraq and syria long before air strikes began. there have been so many foiled attacks before then, and in the very declaration of the caliphate, the spokesman of isis spoke about targeting the rest. so in my opinion these two objectivities, holding ground, governing...

So it's going to give iraqi fighters some support. >> under siege in raqqa as well, is there a feeling that they're almost done as a force to be reckoned with in that region? >> reporter: i think we need to look to history to begin to answer that question, fredericka, if one takes into account the fact that isis has had newspaper roumerous, previo incarnations, and they have only then managed to put themselves back together, re-emerge stronger, more sophisticated and more powerful than before and the concern amongst a lot of people when you speak to them is not necessarily the defeat of isis i...

>> reporter: isis isn't included in the deal. in areas it controls, the fighting goes on. the political passion which stoked this conflict for so many years is still strong. people again protested against president assad just as they have been doing since 2011. a peace plan involving russia, turkey and iran will most likely allow assad to stay in power, at least in the short term. it's something his opponents are unlikely to accept. >> i would be personally rather skeptical if assad will survive the way through into the period when there's a united syrian government. >> reporter: the first tes...